After Ferguson, I worry about my son

DARREN WILSON’S resignation from the Ferguson, Mo., police department didn’t soothe the pain I felt in the wake of the grand jury’s decision not to indict him in the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown.

For months, my emotional well had been filled to overflowing as I watched the shooting become a flashpoint for protests.

I’d recoiled in horror at the militaristic response of police. I’d sighed in resignation at the cruel online responses. I’d wondered at the state of our nation as the shooting morphed into a referendum on race and class, on right and wrong, on black and white.

But as others used Ferguson as an excuse to argue the finer points of civil rights and excessive force, I viewed Ferguson through a much more personal lens, because I am the father of a black son.

I am the man who spoke to my son when he was in my wife’s womb, and told him of the man I wanted him to become. I am the man who wrote to him of my own mistakes and faults before he was old enough to understand them.

Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com and morning host on 900 am WURD radio. Click here to learn more about Solomon